Saturday, 27 September 2008

One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich*

This is what opens the portal for the Procrastination Demons and entices them over. It's the lip-syncing process.

That sound wave in the lower part of the picture is one minute and fifteen seconds of Graham voice - or ONE THOUSAND, NINE HUNDRED and SEVENTY FIVE frames. The little tile things are all the different mouth shapes that have to be matched to every second frame of sound. The highlighted section is what I have left to complete.

It's not particularly difficult, and in fact it wouldn't even be that time consuming were a person to just apply oneself to the job and get on with it.

But it's so, so dull.

And the sun is shining outside. And the internet is on.

If I ever get money to make Grey Bloke properly, this is the first job that gets delegated.

*because it really isn't over-dramatic to compare the animation process with the experience of being in a Soviet gulag. Do I have your sympathy yet? Do I?

I've had a ChurchOfBlow video in the can for over a week now, and I decided to complicate the editing process by dubbing in all the dialogue (which will make some sense, hopefully, when the thing is uploaded).

I think I know what you mean, that_mean_whelp, but I'm not sure it would be any quicker. In both Flash and Magpie you still have to scrub through the sound and select a shape - and I think both programs require the same number of mouse clicks, but in Flash you then have to change a number as well.

Give flash a go, you can have the mouth shape chart open in paint or what have you and eventually, once you've done it enough you'll memorize what is the best numbered shape to use "that sounds like a 12" etc.